Granite rallies to beat Drummond in volleyball opener

PHILIPSBURG – Tuesday’s opening match of the District 13 volleyball season may very well have featured two of the top teams in Drummond and Granite. And while the Lady Prospectors walked away with a 3-1 win, the scores indicated a closer match than what some may have anticipated.

With the Lady Trojans being out gunned in size and experience, they didn’t show any signs of intimidation as they opened with a 26-24 win in Game 1.

Granite played with the visitors until the end, faltering on the final few points in surrendering the game to their cross-county rivals.

The two teams continued their even play into Game 2 with Granite holding an 11-10 lead before going on an 11-3 run that put the contest out of reach. The 25-16 win knotted the match at 1-1.

“We talked about which team was going to show up for us,” said Granite Head Coach Kaley Hansen of her pregame with the Lady Prospectors, “because we have the team that who knows where their heads are at, and the other team that are killers on the court and get hyped for every point. So that team finally showed up.

Our senior captain Reece Pitcher was great about setting that tone.”

Pitcher and the Lady Prospectors continued their solid play into Game 3, but this time Drummond was not so willing to roll over as their hosts built a lead. Down 14-9 at one point, the Lady Trojans rallied to tie the game at 16-16 before Granite could once again regain control and work out a 25-20 victory.

Game 4 saw the two squads battle to a 5-5 score when Ella Tallon stepped to the service line for Granite. The freshman setter ripped off seven straight points with a tough jump serve that had balls breaking and knuckling as they sailed over the net on their way to scoring aces. Her run provided what would be the eventual winning margin for the Lady Prospectors, 25-18.

“I think that volleyball is such a game of energy and emotions and keeping things positive,” said Pitcher after the game. “Our energy was really good and ity was good on both sides of the net. Holly (Hauptman) played really well for them.”

Pitcher and Hauptman led their respective teams with 10 kills each, with the former adding two blocks and seven aces while the latter had a pair of blocks and one service winner.

Lucia Lee and Asha Comings each had seven kills for Granite behind Pitcher, while Tallon and Rachel Ward had 16 and 10 assists, respectively. Lee was also the team leader in blocks with four. Tallon led all players in the game with 11 service aces.

Jessie Struna led Drummond with six assists, with teammate Lexi Nelson close behind with five. Struna was also the team’s runaway leader with seven aces. Freshman Delaney Wagner notched eight kills for the Lady Trojans.

“We lost it in the middle of each game,” observed Drummond Head Coach Paige Fickler. “I changed the rotation on them the last few days so that added a little bit of extra chaos with people not being in positions I would normally have them.

“I think experience is what pushed them across there at the end. They (Granite) adjusted well. We blocked them a lot in the first two sets and then they started tipping to our holes later on.”

Both teams hit the road Thursday for district matches with Drummond heading to Darby and Granite to Lincoln.

SCORING

Drummond – 26/16/20/18

Granite – 24/25/25/25

Aces – (D) Spencer 1, Struna 7, Wagner 1, Hauptman 1; (G) Tallon 11, Pitcher 7, Hill 2, Comings 2

Kills – (D) Spencer 2, Struna 1, Wagner 8, Hauptman 10; (G) Ward 2, Pitcher 10, Locke 1, Lilyquist 2, Lee 7, Hill 2, Comings 7

Assists – (D) Struna 6, Nelson 5; (G) Ward 10, Tallon 16, Pitcher 1, Lee 2

Blocks – (D) Wagner 1, Hauptman 2; (G) Pitcher 2, Lee 4, Comings 1

Digs – (D) Williams 5, Spencer 3, Struna 5, Wagner 4, Rasor 6, Perry 1, Parke 4, Nelson 1, Hauptman 4; (G) Ward 3, Tallon 4, Locke 6, Hill 4, Comings 9